It's time to regroup.

Here's a quick and dirty narrative of the latest saga of my life.

I have been charged with backing up one of the computer systems at work. So, I go the secretary and she orders me 100 DVD-R's that end up not working apparently because that drive only reads DVD+R's. So, I regroup.

I know! I'll get someone to take me to Staples to get DVD+R's. That way the DVD burner will read them and I'll be good to go. I go ask someone, they say yes. Then they say no. They'll bring me DVD+R's tomorrow. They forget to bring the next day and the next day and the next. So, I regroup.

'I know what I'll do!' I say to myself in a moment of brilliance. 'I'll purchase an external hard-drive to back the data up. . .and I'll use the department truck to go get it!' I go to get in the truck, and trundle off to Best Buy to get said external hard-drive. I purchase the external hard-drive with a fair amount of ease and think my luck is turning around. I go out to the parking lot to get back in the department truck and crank it.

Click, click, click. So, I regroup.

Try again.

Click, click, click. So, I regroup.

Obviously the battery is dead. I'm in the parking lot of Best Buy in a town 30 miles away from the one in which I live in a state owned vehicle. After several phone calls the Physical Plant guy comes and jumps the truck and I make it back to campus.

Now armed with the external hard-drive I go to backup said computer and wait, there's people on it. Can't do it now. So, I regroup. 

I check the sign up sheet and wait an hour after they're supposed to be off the machine. But they aren't. I'll wait until tomorrow. So, I regroup.

Tomorrow comes and I successfully manage to copy the data off of the computer onto the external hard drive. Today, my luck has to have turned around. But it hasn't. I've spent the last 4 hours of my life trying to get my own machine to burn DVD-R's of which it is completely capable. I've re-installed drivers, re-installed software, downloaded new and different software, re-started my computer at least 14 times, used 5 different DVD-R's and 2 different DVD+R's and begged, pleaded, threatened and repeated the process all over again. It still is not working. So, I must regroup.

It's five minutes until 5 and I have to go because it will take the whole five minutes to dissemble my CPU from the monitor and lug it down the hall to the elevator to the roof, pitch it over and get back to my office in time to collect my things to catch the bus.

I believe thoroughly in creating your own luck.